#tabletop day 2017

[fernthewhimsical]

Hopepunk Primer pt. 1

"It's like in the great stories, Mr Frodo," Sam says. "Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the Sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

"What are we holding on to, Sam?" Frodo asks.

"That there's some good in this world, Mr Frodo��� and it's worth fighting for," Sam replies. [1]

Origins of Hopepunk

In 2017 author Alexandra Rowland (@ariaste) made a post on Tumblr saying: "The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk. Pass it on." [2]

From Wikipedia: "Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, and violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40,000: "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.""

Other examples of grimdark are A Song of Ice and Fire, Breaking Bad, the darker Batman worlds, and the Walking Dead. [3]

2016 was a rough year, with an even bleaker outlook (although now writing this in 2024 we knew nothing, lol). People were growing weary of the grimdark worlds in media when the world around us was already so dark and left us feeling hopeless. It was time for a change, which Alexandra Rowland brought with their one, according to her own words, off the cuff post on Tumblr.

A few hours later, people were reblogging it and hopepunk found it's way to the people. Now, it's a literary genre, an aesthetic, and a philosophy that inspires people all over the globe.

[1] The Two Towers movie, based on the LOTR by J.R.R. Tolkien

[2] Original tumblr post

[3] Wikipedia page for Grimdark

Part 1: Intro and history

Part 2: Philosophy of Hopepunk

Part 3: How to practice hopepunk and further reading

Part 4: Extra! Hopepunk and magic

[the-young-georgian]

I've been trying to reorganize my sewing/crafting table recently. I don't have the means to do any woodworking at home, so I bought a little wooden crate and wooden tabletop set of drawers with the intention of painting them. After some debating with myself, I think I'm going to try my hand at recreating 18th and early 19th century Pennsylvanian Dutch motifs. I love the blue that is often used as a background, as well as the common elements of tulips, vines, stars, and hearts. I also love that its a style that does not require perfection in its execution. Symmetry is part of the design, but many examples are clearly handpainted and not every element is 100% identical. Some use stencils, which i might try to make later.

I collected a lot of images on Pinterest and many don't have good references with them, so I'm sorry I can't properly credit some of these, but unlike my day job, I don't need to point to an exact date, place, and collection to like the design and be inspired by it.

So here are some of my favorite pieces that I think are a great look at late Colonial and early Federal painted furniture of Pennsylvania and Virginia:

From the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, dated 1795:

From the Met, dated c. 1780:

From Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, dated 1800-1820:

From the Philadelphia Museum of Art, dated 1776:

From a 2017 auction catalog, early 19th century:

Also from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, dated 1720-1740:

[hrokkall]

what other things do you like :?

Inscryption (Mullinsverse in general honestly) is occupying 99% of my brain space right now, but in no particular order some of the other things I like are:

A Hat in Time

OFF

Little Nightmares franchise (rip to the 2017 comics I miss them every day)

Portal

Pokémon (PMD especially but just Pokémon as a whole)

Stray (The game)

Epithet Erased

Tabletop Games (Particularly D&D, Monster of the Week, and Call of Cthulhu)

TMA

Warrior Cats (regretfully)

And then several non-media related interests as well (like birds/computers/etc.), but I’m assuming that’s probably not what this ask entails.

[hexalianrebel-blackfeathers]

Panda’s Collection

Welcome to a list of all the things I made with my own brain. Well, my favorite ones at least. Once again, exceptions have been made. It’s mostly character chaos; fantasy, some romance. Just stuff I like. >w< I will never say no to questions about OCs, so please don’t be shy.

(Sorted by Post Date; Old to New)

2016

Ticklish Ivories—Technically not the first time I’ve posted OC tickles, with the whole novel and everything, but this was the first one here. I adore the idea of musical tickles.

[Original]

Musical Tickles and Spooky Magic

Word Count: 2,935

Nights in Copper Heights; an Excerpt—This is technically a lie, since I never actually wrote this scene before I posted it here. But it’s a tickle scene; I had to get it out of my head. >w<

Reconciling Through Tickles. A Little Bondage.

Word Count: 2,950

Nights in Copper Heights—Since I’m here, actually, I might as well include this link. I wrote Nights in Copper Heights essentially as a parody of the Twilight series. I never really bothered watching the entire Twilight series, mind you, but I still kinda like the concepts here and ideas that I had. I had written those chapters back in 2016 or 2017, but I didn’t realize you could backdate things in Ao3 yet. >-< If I do go back, I’ll be rewriting it again…

[Ao3 Exclusive!]

Vampires, Werewolves, and the Humans Caught Up In Their Turf War

Current Word Count: 19,138

Satan’s True Weakness—The story I originally had for these guys was called Why I Remarried God, another idea I think is pretty interesting in concept, but might slip better into an anthology than a whole book. Nowadays, they’re slotted into my current universe as Ethereals.

Insubordinate Tickles and Immortals Disguised as Humans

Word Count: 1,567

Kissing Colors—I’m tempted to think I have completion anxiety. Jacob’s Ladder was a story about a pretty tsundere high schooler realizing he might not be entirely straight. It got a bit intense. Or it would have if I finished it.

Makeup and Tickly Kisses. Puppy Love

Word Count: 1,631

Laughter—Short and simple. Pretty cute, I think.

Movie Night Tickle Attacks

Word Count: 607

A Fairy and a Vampire have an Argument—Set in the Copper Heights era. I don’t think these two would have appeared in the book, but I love making characters, okay? >w<

Tummy Tickles in a Tree. Minor Sads

Word Count: 1,291

Never Tell—Remember when those video games about accessing the Dark Web were all over Youtube? This is from that. I love writing dialogue.

[Ao3]

A Little Spicy, I Guess? Barely. Talk About Tickles and Implied Danger

Current Word Count: 1,346

~~~~~~~

            2018

Tabletop—This one is still my favorite non-novel thing, and I refuse to shut up about it.

[Ao3]

Dungeons & Dragons, But with Tickles.

Current Word Count: 5,612

The Power of Laughter (2011)—The first time I ever actually mentioned my novel here was around this time. This is the universe I’ve been working on reviving lately, as I’ve probably mentioned way too much. This is my favorite thing. Ever. It’s my baby. >w< This version specifically is technically the third draft of the book. Tabletop is technically part of this universe. One day, you might find out why~

[Ao3]

Kids Get Magic Powers to Fight Tickle Monsters. Espionage, Casual Murder, and 30 Chapters of Nonsense Written By a Thirteen-Year-Old.

Word Count: 56,887

~~~~~~~~

2020

The Lighthouse Keepers—A glimpse into Panda’s horror brain, and the land of Esker itself. Part of an Anthology I had in mind

[Ao3 Exclusive!]

Magic, Violence, Unknown Cryptids, and Death

Word Count: 1,849

Whisker Wizards: The Elegy of the Ashen Bastard—The first “episode” of the Whisker Wizards series. They all follow fluffy animal friends and magical crises.

[Ao3 Exclusive!]

Magic, Violence, and a Hero’s Journey

Current Word Count: 1,291

The Magic Man’s Face—A sort of rewrite I tried to start of an older story: “Andrew Taylor is in Love”. It was from an anthology of romance and slice of life stories a younger Panda wanted to write.

[Ao3 Exclusive!]

Stage Magic, Pining, and Love at First Sight

Current Word Count: 851

~~~~~~~~~~~

2021

The Facility—First time introducing you guys to Trevor Bansel outside of his setting. His role changes a lot in-universe, but he’s always been around; one of my favorite characters to play with.

A Tickle Monster Getting Tickled For Misbehaving

Word Count: 1,460

~~~~~~~~~~~~

2023

Panda’s Tree—I’ve always kind of been an idea factory. As we all know by now, execution is a different category altogether. >-<

A List of Panda’s Current Plans for Novels, Stories, and Whatnot.

[tinysamm]

Recc Board Games of 2022 (Part 2 of 2)

And here it is! The new year is fully rung in, and with that I wanted to highlight some board games I got to enjoy last year as well. These aren't in any particular order, but will hopefully let you know about some new, cool tabletop experiences!

I'm pretty consistently playing tabletop games, whether those are TTRPGs or TCGs, but this year in particular was a great time for picking up new and interesting ones. Here's hoping 2023 presents lots of similar opportunities to try out new titles in the tabletop space!

Calico Board Game (2020)

Published by Flatout Games

Magic the Gathering: Unfinity (2022)

Published by Wizards of the Coast

Klask (2014)

Published by Klask ApS

Small World (2009)

Published by Days of Wonder

Everdell (2018)

Published by Starling Games

Splendor Duel (2022)

Published by Space Cowboys

Dungeon Mayhem (2018)

Published by Wizards of the Coast

Century: Spice Road (2017)

Published by Plan B Games

Love Letter (2012)

Published by Alderac Entertainment Group

Dice Miner (2021)

Published by Atlas Games

Here to Slay (2020)

Published by TeeTurtle

Codenames (2015)

Published by Czech Games Edition

[themculibrary]

Matt Murdock/Natasha Romanoff (DareWidow) Masterlist

A Kiss with a Fist (ao3) - Alistra E, 2k

Summary: (Matt and Natasha affectionately beat the shit out of each other.)

can't keep living for the damage (ao3) - brandywine421 G, 3k

Summary: Matt is Natasha's secret. Maybe that's okay.

Come Together, Fall Apart, 2014 (ao3) - Callmeisolde T, 8k

Summary: A belated continuation of the "Matt and Nat Take New York" series. I wrote most of this is 2017 and would rather it see the light of day than continue to languish, especially because I have more ideas for further works...

Natasha continues to weave in and out of Matt's life, leaving him hopeful and happy until things take an unexpectedly dark turn as both are forced to recon with their own helplessness.

Can stand alone, but follows previous works in the series, Winter in New York, A Chance Encounter, and A Crazier Then Average Year.

Everytime I kiss you I can hear your heart breaking (ao3) - Winter_cold1127 T, 5k

Summary: What did he expect? She's so damn overprotective with him.

He hugs her, but he feels something else. Love. Some Things he's been hiding for a while now. This act of love changed everything for him. He truly does love her so much.

He grabs her face and kisses her. She deepens it. He knows it's what she wants. Her heart has never been slower. She feels safe. The kiss tastes like honey and roses. He never wants to stop, nor does she. But they break apart and rest their foreheads against each other to gain their breath back.

Final Countdown (ao3) - tisfan E, 1k

Summary: The job was over, which was good.

Natasha had promised that she wouldn’t kill cops or innocent bystanders (which the cops often didn’t mind shooting, if there was a target anywhere in the vicinity and sometimes even when there wasn’t), which was annoying sometimes, but she was supposed to be the good guys. She might have wounded the one cop who had such terrible aim he’d shot at her three times and hit at least two other people who were uninvolved.

She rested her head on the metal table in the interrogation room, using the cool tabletop to soothe her aching cheek. Wondered if Matt would get here soon enough, or if they’d actually press charges before he managed to get here.

Hearth & Home (We Could Be Immortals) (ao3) - sinivalkoista G, 4k

Summary: OR Matt and Nat's House Rules

His Favorite Sound (ao3) - ultrona M, 46k

Summary: A steady heartbeat. Never faltered, always consistent. A steady breathing. Full lips brushing on the glass of a bottle. Beer. But she was drinking gin before that, he was sure. At least two glasses of it, with tonic.

Matt didn’t know why, but she was fascinating.

Lover's Eyes (ao3) - Ninjathrowingstork, SpockPandaSaurus (xxpanda92xx) N/R, 12k

Summary: While chasing down a possible lead on Cap's lost friend, Natasha Romanoff instead finds another vigilante dispensing his own brand of justice in New York. As she learns more about him, Nat realizes how much having friends in the business matters, and resolves to not let this new hero fight the world by himself.

Made to Be Broken (ao3) - PaigeTurner E, 36k

Summary: Natasha Romanoff is still getting used to having choices -- and people who care about her. When SHIELD sends her undercover as a student at Columbia University, she meets a classmate who makes her want something more. // Matt Murdock is perfectly fine, thank you very much. He has it all: admission to the prestigious law program at Columbia University, a bright future, his best friend and roommate, Foggy Nelson, and the freedom to get laid whenever he wants. Matt has no time for love and no need for it. Right?

Raindrops on The Window (ao3) - boneslover G, 1k

Summary: Sitting at her desk, reading an old SHIELD report, she felt it. A presence standing in the middle of the room between the sofas and wetting the entire rug with the raindrops that fell from his clothes. There was no need to look up to know who it was, but she closed the file and took a deep breath before looking at him.

A man in black clothes and a cloth covering the upper half of his face. His fists were clenched at his sides and his posture was rigid. He kept his head toward the floor and just waited.

Matthew Murdock.

The Liars Club (Ao3) - igrockspock T, 3k

Summary: Matt and Natasha have a lot in common. They have a flexible relationship with the truth, and people who hang out with them might get charged aiding and abetting a felony. Oh, and when they were ten, unscrupulous people trained them to fight in a mysterious war.

the mice will play (ao3) - brandywine421 T, 13k

Summary: AU post Age of Ultron, the slightly younger Maximoff twins need a place to stay after Sokovia and Natasha thinks she knows just the spot.

The Right Thing (ao3) - ceterisparibus T, 5k

Summary: Matt gets poisoned. He's not sure if the effects of the antidote are worse than the effects of the poison itself; the only thing he's sure of is that he doesn't want to be alone.

the tethers of this scene (ao3) - brandywine421 T, 6k

Summary: "So, what are we doing here again?" Steve whispered to Clint.

"I'm going to kidnap a patient they're holding in their clinic," Natasha stated, shifting the van into park.  "I need you to carry him, he's busted all to hell."

"This is an orphanage, is it, like a kid?" Clint asked after a beat.

"No - "

"I won't help you attack nuns, I mean, I know I'm not a practicing Catholic at the moment but this is a little far for me," Steve interrupted.

She inhaled through her nose and didn't clench her fists but both men flinched anyway.  "I'm not attacking anyone but they're going to let me take him."

The texture of brick against a parched tongue (ao3) - Alistra E, 1k

Summary: Romantic advice from one emotionally hopeless case to another. With sex.

This Settling Dust (ao3) - BeaArthurPendragon E, 17k

Summary: After Thanos snaps his fingers, Matt Murdock makes an unimaginable deal to save New York City. When Natasha Romanoff shows up in Hell's Kitchen to ask for his help, they realize they just might save each other, too. Familiarity with Netflix's Daredevil series is helpful but not strictly necessary.

Visits & Vomit (ao3) - sinivalkoista G, 741

Summary: Natasha watches Matt after he is drugged on patrol.

while collecting the stars (i connected the dots) (ao3) - himynameisv T, 5k

Summary: Natasha Romanoff has three families, waiting to meet; a lifetime of secrets, waiting to be unloaded; and a multitude of masks, waiting to be torn away. They're all connected.

Or: Nat, and learning how to love.

[beardedmrbean]

SEOUL, March 3 (UPI) -- The United States and South Korea will revive a massive springtime joint military exercise this month, both countries announced Friday, returning to a scale not seen in five years in response to growing missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.

The Freedom Shield exercise will be held from March 13 to 23 and will consist of live field drills and computer-simulation command post exercises, the two militaries said at a joint press conference in Seoul.

"Freedom Shield is designed to strengthen defense and response capabilities of the alliance by focusing within the exercise scenario on things such as the changing security environment, DPRK aggression and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts," U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Col. Isaac Taylor told the joint press briefing.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

RELATEDU.S. hits North Korea with new sanctions targeting missile program

Officials said the field drills will return to the size of previous Foal Eagle exercises, which were suspended in 2019 under the administration of former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who led a diplomatic push for inter-Korean rapprochement.

"During the exercise period, we will also conduct a number of large-scale combined field training exercises that have returned to the scale of Foal Eagle," Taylor said. "One of those exercises will include a combined amphibious drill that will be conducted to improve combined operation execution capabilities."

Prior to Freedom Shield, the allies also plan to conduct a four-day crisis management exercise.

RELATEDKim Jong Un: North Korea needs 'radical change' to boost food production

North Korea has long condemned U.S.-South Korea joint drills as preparations for an invasion and warned last month of "unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions" to the upcoming exercise.

Seoul and Washington have stepped up their military cooperation in recent months amid a flurry of weapons tests and hostile rhetoric from the North.

Pyongyang fired a record number of ballistic missiles last year and has continued with several tests in recent weeks, including the launch of a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile last month that experts believe has the range to reach the entire United States.

RELATEDNorth Korea conducts 'nuclear counterattack' missile exercise

The North has also threatened to use nuclear weapons against South Korea and the United States in pre-emptive strikes. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently called for "an exponential increase" of the country's nuclear arsenal and ordered the mass production of lower-yield tactical nuclear weapons, which are designed to be used on the battlefield.

Last week, Pyongyang test-fired four cruise missiles in what it called a demonstration of its "lethal nuclear counterattack capability."

Officials in Seoul and Washington have assessed that North Korea has completed preparations for a nuclear test, which would be its seventh overall and first since 2017. The allies conducted a tabletop exercise last week to prepare for a possible North Korean nuclear attack.

[frankhablawi]

I've been thinking more about a long-form Play-by-Email campaign, and have settled on a few different ideas on how to get started including what system to start with, but today I stumbled upon two fun sources of the early days of attempting massive multiplayer "D&D" style tabletop gaming that I wanted to share! 35 minutes into this video from @daddyrolleda1 he goes over Dungeon #4 where one Keith A. Abbott tries to set an enormous game up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRZd5UbByo

A few more details about this ambitious project are on @docetist John Peterson's PLAYING AT THE WORLD here: https://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-forgotten-variant-loera-massively.html

TTRPG Community #TheLongCampaign #Gaming #TTRPG

[daniellethamasa]

Tabletop Tuesday: Gen Con Plans

This week, for Tabletop Tuesday, we're talking about things we're looking forward to at Gen Con, which is next week. We're excited about it! Conventions are always a fun time (when you're a guest).

Hey all, Sam and David here today. We figured it would be a good idea to use our time with Tabletop Tuesday this week to talk about our upcoming convention experience and plans. We’ve been attending Gen Con together our whole relationship, although we only did one day back in 2017 (because we didn’t know any better at the time). We definitely do the full four days now. Anyway, Gen Con is August…

[annalandin]

Here are the tieflings I drew tonight during my stream  (which was FIVE HOURS LONG gosh). Thanks for hanging out, everyone who did! It was a fun way to celebrate International Tabletop Day, since I couldn’t play any games today. (tieflings! <3) twitter - patreon - store 

[geekandsundry]

http://geekandsundry.com/actor-liam-mcintyres-secret-tabletop-origins/

If you’re into sci-fi and fantasy, you likely recognize Liam McIntyre. Most notably he headlined Spartacus: War of the Damned and plays Marc Mardon (aka the Weather Wizard) on The Flash. But did you know he created and successfully Kickstarted his own tabletop game, Monster Lab? Liam has...

[cartoontriper]

[theartofmany]

“YouTuber Tom Scott has flown drones through lightning, he’s taken on the first human-powered theme park, he’s even visited Penistone. But he’s never taken on a British Museum curator in the world’s oldest playable board game… UNTIL NOW! For International Tabletop Day 2017, Tom Scott was challenged by British Museum Curator Irving Finkel to a round of the oldest playable board game in the world – The Royal Game of Ur – a game whose rules were rediscovered and deciphered by Irving himself.“ From Youtube channel The British Museum: Tom Scott vs Irving Finkel: The Royal Game of Ur | PLAYTHROUGH | International Tabletop Day 2017 For those board game lovers around: this is such a nice lesson of both history and the oldest board game in the world Have fun =) ...

[radioactivepeasant]

Inktober Day 14: an older doodle I touched up. I have this idea for a tabletop rpg character that's literally just a magic axe. Like the party finds it as loot and then she joins the campaign. The character sheet would probably be hard to make though.

[taifunu]

bokeh fun by auntneecey Via Flickr: Experimenting this morning with a glycerin, a weed seed, light and my daughter's sparkly shoes. I find it fun and frustrating to try to create the image I have in mind. Off to play some more today with my family, enjoying our time off together during this month. Thanks for stopping to see my light and fluff today, may your day be filled with sparkly goodness too. ODC - so small

[hermannsthumb]

I have a fun prompt I've been thinking about I hope you have time for one day! When Newt and Hermann meet actually things go really really well and they even get together. It's just they bicker so much and have huge science-based arguments that everyone assumed they must have hated each other on sight.

sure thing! i had fun with this one

----

"So," Newt says. "I was talking to Tendo today."

Across the mess table, Hermann hums in feigned interest. Newt knows it's feigned 'cause Hermann doesn't stop either thing he's doing: using his left hand to wind noodles around a fork, and using his right hand to scribble away a series of lengthy equations on the back of a paper napkin. His full attention has been hopping between both for about ten minutes now—no room for Newt to slip in there. He's testing his limits enough as it. Half of the last equation ended up scratched into the tabletop, and the last time he lifted his fork to his mouth, it was empty. And then he swallowed anyway. Newt kinda loves the guy.

"Yeah," Newt says, deciding to continue like Hermann responded the way he was actually supposed to respond, which would've been something along the lines of what an utterly fascinating story, Newton, do tell me more. I love hearing you talk, Newton. How marvelously smart you are, Newton, and how melodic and breathtaking your voice is. Now watch me bite down on an empty fork again. "Kinda funny. He was asking how we met."

Hermann finally looks up at Newt suspiciously over the rims of his glasses, which are slipping slowly down his nose. He stills them with the tip of his index finger before they land in his dinner. "Why?"

"I don't know, man," Newt says. "He just was. It was like, small talk, you wouldn't get it. He dropped by the lab when you were out this morning to let me know that there was extra space if we wanted it. Like, lab space." Hermann resumes scratching an equation into the table absently. Newt rolls his eyes. "As in, we could have separate labs if we wanted now."

Hermann knits his eyebrows together. "Separate laboratories?"

When Newt and Hermann first started at the Hong Kong Shatterdome, the k-scientist team was pre-existing and significantly bigger, and anyone who joined on later—like, you know, them—basically got shoved in wherever they fit. For Newt and Hermann, that happened to be Laboratory Space D, Basement Level 1 (the only basement level), along with a former marine biologist who was killed on a research excursion a month later when a kaiju made unexpected landfall, like, right on top of their chosen shelter. Bad luck. Anyway, Newt's known about the existence of other Hong Kong Shatterdome lab spaces in the vague and absent sort of way that you would an urban legend, but (similarly so) he never thought he and Hermann would actually ever lay eyes on one. And then Tendo stopped by to dangle it in front of Newt on a stick.

"The other labs were being used as storage for ages after everyone else—" Newt searches for a word tasteful enough to encapsulate got stomped by a kaiju and wised up and decided to live out what are probably our last few days before the world ends with their families instead of alone in a military bunker. "—left. Anyway, Tendo told me they've been going through shit like crazy this month, I think to see if they can salvage any old tech, and that the other labs are basically totally emptied out now. We just have to ask and they're ours."

Hermann sets down both his pen and fork, twisting his mouth contemplatively. He finally loses the battle against gravity with his glasses, and they miss his plate by an inch, swinging back on their chain and bouncing harmlessly against his chest instead. Newt briefly wonders if getting a chain for his own glasses would save them from their frequent fatal falls into kaiju organ cavities and buckets of non-neutralized kaiju blood, but decides not even the money he'd save on replacement pairs would make a fashion faux pas like that worth it. "You know I don't much fancy the basement," Hermann says.

"Your joints," Newt agrees. The damp of the basement sets Hermann's joint pain off frequently, something Hermann talks about just as frequently. Newt's not really a fan of the basement either, though for different reasons—he would kill to get some windows and natural, non-fluorescent light in there. Sun lamps can only do so much. He's pretty sure he'd fucking glow if he stepped outside right now. Also, it's cold down here.

"And it might be nice to be closer to LOCCENT, in case of an emergency," Hermann continues. "And closer to—oh, hang on. What has this got to do with us?"

"Huh?"

"How we met," Hermann says. "You said, that Tendo asked—"

"Oh," Newt says. It's his turn to play coy. He stirs his chopsticks through his own dinner, accidentally flicking a piece of tofu to the table. It lands on top of Hermann's etched equations. Hermann scowls, because that's how their routine goes: Newt gets Hermann's stuff dirty, and Hermann gets mad. "Well. It was just that Tendo was like you can finally be out of each other's hair, how the hell did you guys get stuck together anyway when you obviously can't stand each other, that kind of stuff."

"Ah," Hermann says.

"And I said that it was because we knew each other before," Newt says, "and that we transferred here together. And that's when he asked."

"And what did you say?" Hermann says.

"That we used to correspond professionally," Newt says, "and met at a conference way back in 2017." He adds, with a grin, "Also professionally."

This was technically true. Newt and Hermann did write to each other, professionally, and they did meet at a conference, professionally, but what went down after a long and public shouting match in the events hall of a very nice hotel—in Hermann's room, five floors up in that very nice hotel—was not very professional. The events of the week that followed—spent, intermittently, between Hermann's hotel room, several coffee shops, a bench under a tree in Newt's favorite park, a rotation sushi restaurant, brushing knees shyly on the tram, and, finally, clasping hands on the staircase of Newt's apartment and gazing deeply into each other's eyes—weren't very professional, either, but Newt likes to think that they were very romantic. Rom-com level shit. Newt revealed none of this to Tendo, who referred to the 2017 conference as that Infamous Day for the rest of their conversation. "Well, it was professional," Hermann sniffs.

But he reaches across the table, and, very timidly, crosses his pinkie over top of Newt's. It's the most blatant form of PDA Hermann ever willingly engages Newt in. Newt thinks if he ever tried to touch two fingers at once in anywhere but the lab, or God forbid, hold his whole hand, Hermann's ears might start emitting steam like something out of a cartoon. "It might be nice," he says again.

Laboratory Space D, Basement Level 1, is unique—Newt knows—in that Newt and Hermann's quarters are connected to it directly. None of the other labs have that luxury (and Newt has a feeling it's because Lab Space D wasn't actually intended as a lab space). He remembers being told that when they were shoved into it. Yeah, you have the darkest and tiniest lab space on base, but your rooms are right there! When Newt wants to go to Hermann's room, or if he's in Hermann's room and needs a sweatshirt or something from his own, he just has to step the three feet between their two doors. Moving labs could throw a wrench in that—they might be asked to move quarters, too, and might be shuttled to opposite sides of the Shatterdome, and though they could just bite the bullet and request couple's quarters already, it's nice to have their own spaces when they need it. That would never work. And, well, besides—the lab, their lab, feels like home to them at this point. Newt shrugs.

"On the other hand," Hermann says, and he taps Newt's pinkie lightly, "I quite like how things are. I can live with the damp, really."

"We can get a dehumidifier," Newt offers.

Hermann nods, and he gives Newt the barest hint of a smile.

Their monthly delivery of lab supplies—whatever they can afford with their shoestring budget, which, these days, mostly means chalk, rubber gloves, and nice instant ramen—comes three weeks later. Newt wouldn't exactly call the Shatterdome delivery guy a friend, seeing as he has yet to divulge his name to Newt (and also Newt's pretty sure he has a thing for Hermann, since he always seems to wait until Hermann is in the lab to stroll by with his package trolley and always calls him Dr. Gottlieb with big stupid heart eyes, oh, Dr. Gottlieb, that new sweater looks soooo nice on you!, so anyway, that makes him Newt's rival by default), but he, at least, recognizes and acknowledges Newt at this point. That's more than Newt can say for most people on the base. After his usual greeting to the two of them (hey, Newt, oh, hellllooo, Dr. Gottlieb, did you do something new with your hair?), he starts to unload their packages, also like usual.

"I was surprised to see that you guys are still down here," he tells Newt, not like usual. "Tendo mentioned something about you getting your own labs."

"He did?" Newt says, meaning to frown, but grinning instead. It's kind of fun to be the subject of gossip. He pulls off his gloves and tosses them in the trash to help with their supplies—the dehumidifier he requested should be in there, and it's fancy and definitely on the bigger side.

"Yeah," their delivery guy continues. He hands Newt a fuckin' massive brick of a package. Hermann's stupid chalk. The amount that Hermann tears through in a month really is astounding: Newt has a private theory that Hermann is an undercover space alien from a planet where chalk constitutes all of the primary food groups, and he secretly sneaks out here and eats it in the dead of night when Newt is asleep. "Anyway, sorry I'm late," the delivery guy says, as Newt imagines Hermann crunching on a piece of chalk like a carrot stick, "I went to all the other labs first."

"No worries, dude," Newt says. "Sorry for the confusion."

He lugs the package over to Hermann's desk, and drops it down on the only spot not over-cluttered with papers and books. Hermann complains about Newt's messiness a lot for a guy who is just as bad, if not worse. "Need any now?" Newt asks Hermann.

Hermann, scribbling away at his chalkboard, grunts. Newt decides that's a no.

"Hard at work, Dr. Gottlieb?" the delivery guy says, practically fluttering his eyelashes.

Another grunt. Newt snorts.

"I thought you guys would've moved right away," the delivery guy (obviously disappointed at Hermann's lack of attention) tells Newt. "Tendo mentioned you've been stuck together for a while, ever since some sort of dramatic confrontation at a conference ten years ago." he adds eagerly, "Did you really get thrown out? I don't know how you haven't killed each other yet."

"It's taken a lot of hard work," Newt says. Yeah, the whole being-ejected-from-the-conference-and-barred-from-all-future-ones-forever thing is technically true too, but everyone there was too stuffy and serious for Newt's fun vibes anyway, so he thinks it's their loss. The most important part of the scientific breakthrough process, Newt frequently thinks, was having someone there to challenge you and push back at you. Sometimes loudly. And in public. In the conference hall of a very expensive hotel, in front of all of your scientific peers, some hotel security guards, and a poor graduate student who made the mistake of asking you and your penpal-colleague for your joint opinion on something and got caught in the crosshairs. Besides—out of everyone at that stupid conference, Newt and Hermann were the only ones snapped up by the PPDC, so it's doubly their loss. "And, yeah, we got thrown out. Me and Hermann fight a lot, but we always make up eventually. It's no big deal. It's, like, our thing."

"Make up?"

Newt waggles his eyebrows and doesn't elaborate. The making up part is the best part of arguing with Hermann, honestly, but he's not about to go giving private details about stuff like that to his rival.

By the time Hermann finally descends his ladder, three hours have passed, and Newt is frowning over an email he's just gotten from Shatterdome HR. Hermann will probably see it in a second when he checks his own email—it was sent to both of them, after all—but Newt waves him over to his desk anyway. "Look," he says.

He draws out the spare chair he keeps by his desk (for Hermann), and Hermann drops into it gratefully, propping his cane up against the arm. Then Hermann pushes his glasses up onto his nose and scans the email with a frown of his own. Newt reads it aloud for him anyway. "'Subject: Quarters Reassignment,'" he says. "Dear Drs. Geiszler and Gottlieb: It has recently come to our attention that you will be transferring to Laboratories A&B. Should you wish to transfer quarters as well, you will find the necessary paperwork..."

"By Jove," Hermann groans, and pulls his glasses off again, smudging a bit of chalk on his cheek, "can't they just leave us alone?"

Newt laughs. "I'll tell them we're not interested. Wait, listen to this bit at the end: Congratulations—this must be a relief! Guess they were getting your complaint forms after all, Hermann." Both Newt and Hermann had long-since assumed that any and all official complaint forms stamped with a k-sci lab return address are filed right into the garbage. It's never deterred Hermann from sending them in, though.

"Hmph," Hermann says.

Newt carefully rolls his shirtcuff back down to his wrist and uses it to rub off Hermann's chalk smudge. When it's gone, or at least, mostly gone, he brushes his fingers back through Hermann's short hair. Hermann's eyelids flutter shut, and as he leans into Newt's touch, his creased forehead smooths just a little. "Mm. You're lovely," he murmurs. "We really ought to tell them we're married. It's gone on long enough."

"I guess," Newt says. "But it's kind of funny, isn't it?"